Birding by ear has become more popular than ever as a way of locating and identifying birds. World renowned for his extensive collection of bird song recordings, Lang Elliott has selected songs of fifty North American birds for his new book, which follows on the heels of his acclaimed Music of the Birds. More than just a teaching tool, these recordings are fascinating to listen to. Many birds have unique or unusual sound-making behaviors, such as the flight song of the ovenbird, the dawn song of the eastern wood-pewee, and the duetting between males and females of many species. Elliott writes about his exploits recording these sounds and includes his favorite stories about the birds. For each species, a short essay accompanies a colour photograph and sonagrams of the vocalizations.
The package includes a seventy-minute CD with samples of all the songs and calls discussed, along with brief narrated introductions by the author. Relaxing dawn chorus soundscapes without narration are included at the end.